Growing up as a member of Generation Z, my youth was shaped by the experience of the mall culture that was prominent from the 2000s and 2010s. A specific example of this culture that is close to my heart is Crossroads Mall based in Waterloo, IA. 

The mall was not just a space for shopping, it was rather a social hub, full of life and distinctive energy that enveloped you the second you walked in. However, over the course of years, this energy of malls has dimmed due to the shift in consumer behavior and the impact of online shopping. Malls that have remained have transformed into empty wastelands, lacking any form of life they once had.

Today, we’re close to losing our mall, the Crossroads Mall, one of the last remains of the once bustling mall culture. Being dead for years, there are plans to demolish it in exchange for turning it into generic cityscape. If we let this happen, we'll lose more than just a commercial space. We will lose an iconic piece of our local culture and a connection to our past. We will lose the opportunity to allow future generations to have this experience.

Please sign this petition to stop the planned demolition—or at least change the direction of which the empty space will be used for— of the Crossroads Mall, and to bring back mall culture, in Waterloo, IA.